Lifting mechanism for railway cars



' V r 1,627,481 May 1927' 1.. J. CLAPP LIFTING MECHANISM FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Oct. 1, 1926 .ifj haven Z021- 3 Leww J mp U.

\ MI'W' Patented May 3, 1927.

UNIT EJD STATES FATE-IN T -;OF;FI CE.

LEWIS J. CLAPP, OF CLAREMONT,.NE\V HAIVIPSHIRE, ASSIGHOR TO SULLIVAN MA- CHINERY COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

LIFTING MECHANISM FOR RAILWAY CARS.

Application .filed October 1, 1926.

This invention relates to lifting mechanisms for railway cars and more partrculau 'ly, but not exclusively, to lifting devices for portable railway compressor outfits.

An object of-this invention is to provide improved glifting mechanism whereby a :portable rail-road compressor outfit may be readily anjd quickly lifted from themain --trackw.ay and thereafter shifted laterally -therefrom -on-auxiliary lifting wheels running on- ;supplemental transverserails laid across thezmain-traolrway. Another object -o f-;-this invention is to provide improved l-iftingudevices for a portable railway oomp-ressoroutfit-:which may be adjusted with facility; and expeditiously, which are. exceedingly rugged in construction, and which :may be man-ufactured at a minimum of expense. Qtheruobjects of'this invention will su s quently appea In the {accompanying drawings I have (shown for purposes of, illustration one form which my i ve tio ;may a sum i p =itice- {Fig- 1 is a sideelevation of a, portable rallwaycolnpressor outfit to which the improved :li'fting devices are applied, the auxiliary wheel beingshown in their-raised or inoperative position.

Fig; 2, is -anenlarged fragmentary view --illustratin-g.one of the lifting devices shown inEig 1.

Fig. 3--is a rear end elevational view of the compressor outfit shown,in Fig. l, the compressor outfit being shown lifted from the traelrway and supported by the auxiliary wheels.

. Eigsm iz to 6 are detail views illustrating v the{severalpositions of the, auxiliary wheels.

Fig. 7 is a vertical.sectional.view taken on line 77. of Fig. 2, illustrating the improved rlooking means for the auxiliary wheels.

In this illustrative embodiment of the invention the improved lifting devices are vshown applied to: a portable railway compressor. outfit generally designated 1, al- ,though it isobvious that the invention is applicable to any railroad car. The compressor outlitl, generally stated, comprises a supporting frameQ supported on usual track wheels 3.-adapted. to run along a ,usu al track-.

way a. .,Mounted,on jthe frazne2 is, a com- Serial No. 139,006.

pressor suitably driven by a gasoline-engine 6, the compressor discharging air under pressure to a usual receiver 7. A- gasoline tank 8 and a radiator 9 are also provided in the usual manner.

In the improved construction it willherein be observed thatlocated preferably-at the rear of each of the track; wheels-3 areiauxiliary wheel. devices, generally designated 10, of improved form whichare so const ucted asto permit the compressor outfit to be lifted I bodily fromthe main trackway 4 and =thereafter shifted laterally-therefrom .in a

mannerto be later described. The; devices 10 each comprise a supporting frame or bracket 11 secured asby, bolts 12 to the Sides of the frame 2. ;The brackets 11 are each provided with dependingarrns 13-having at their lower endsapertures 14 in which a stationary shaft 15 ismigidlysecured as by set screws 16. The shaft ,-15 has rotatably mounted thereona wheel supportingnor eccentric iifting memberl'l" having arranged eccen'trioa lly thereof bearing surfaces 18 on which an auxiliary wheel l9;is journaled. The wheels 19 of the lifting devices lo are adapted to run along. supplemental transverse rails 2O which are laidgacross the main trackway 4. As illustrated -forme d im the eccentric. portion of the Wheel support;17 is a socket 21 adapted to. receive one end of a lever orbar 22. Furthermore, extending radially of 'theshaft 15 isan aperture 23 formed in the member17 and this aperture is adapted toreceive a slidable locking pin 24 carried within a projectingdug 25 formed on one of the arms of each of the brackets 11. The upper end of the locking pin has secured thereto a suitable grasping-handle 26. It will thus be evident that when the aperture 23 is brought into alinement with the locking pin 24, the latter-may ,drop within the aperture to lockthe auxiliary wheel in its operative or lowered position.

In accordance with this invention thev portion 17 of the auxiliary wheel mounting-has formed thereonat one end thereof a lateral P e t on 27 h his e arte to engage a similar projection 28 .forrned on the inner side of the adjacent arm 13 of thebracket 11. It will be obvious that when the wheel 19 is rotated into its inoperative or rat 36d .position as shown in Fig. 6, the projection 27 .en-

gages the projection28 on the bracket, the

by maintaining the wheel in position, the projections 27, 28 being located at a point past the center of gravity of the wheel.

In the use of the improved auxiliary liftting devices it will be noted that when it is desired to lift the compressor outfit from the main trackway 4 and to shift the same laterally therefrom, the supplemental rails 20 are laid transversely across the rails 4 as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The wheels 19 are then swung about their eccentric mountings until they engage the treads of the supplemental rails, the wheels assuming the position shown in Fig. 5 at that time. The levers 22 are then inserted into the sockets 21 in the lifting eccentrics 17 and the operator then manually swings the wheels to their lowered position shown in Fig. 4;, consequently lifting the compressor outfit bodily 0 from the main trackway 4 as shown in Fig. 3, the entire Weight of the compressor outfit then being carried by the auxiliary wheels 19 directly upon the transverse rails 20. When the wheels assume the position shown in Fig. 4, the locking pins 24 drop within the apertures 23 in the eccentrics 17, thereby locking the auxiliary wheel mountings against further rotation. The compressor outfit is then shifted laterally on the trans verse rails 20 in an obvious manner.

As a result of this invention it will be noted that improved auxiliary lifting devices for a portable railway compressor outfit are provided, which may be adjusted with facility and expeditiously, which are exceedlngly rugged in structure, and which may be manu actured at a minimum expense. It will further be noted that improved lifting devices are provided which may be attached to a standard compressor outfit with a mini mum of change. These and other advantages of this invention will be clearly ap parent. to those skilled in. this art.

While I have in this application specificah 1y described one form which my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this form of the same is shown for purposes of illustration and that the invention may be modified and embodied in carious 59 other forms without departing from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1 In a portable railway compressor outfit, the combination with a supporting frame and track wheels carried thereby, f brackets attached to said frame, lifting eccentrics rotatably carried by said brackets, auxiliary wheels journaled on said eccentrics, and lever operated means for rotating said eccentrics to raise or lower said auxiliary wheels.

2. In a portable railway compressor outfit, the combination with a supporting frame and track Wheels carried thereby, of brackets attached to said frame each carrying a shaft, lifting eccentrics rotatably mounted on said shafts, auxiliary Wheels journaled on said eccentrics, and lever operated means for rotating said eccentrics to raise or lower said auxiliary wheels.

3. In a portable railway compressor outfit, the combination with a supporting frame and track wheels carried thereby, of brackets attached to said frame each carrying a stationary shaft, lifting eccentrics rotatably mounted on said shafts, auxiliary wheels journaled on said eccentrics, means for rotating said eccentrics to raise or lower said auxiliary wheels, and means for maintaining said eccentrics in their raised position.

4. In a portable railway compressor outfit, the combination with a supporting frame and track wheels carried thereby, of brackets attached to said frame each carrying a stationary shaft, lifting eccentrics rotatably mounted on said shafts, auxiliary Wheels journaled on said eccentrics, means for rotating said eccentrics to raise or lower said auxiliary wheels, means for maintaining said eccentrics in their raised position, and means for locking said wheels in their lowered position.

5. In a portable railway compressor outfit, the combination with a supporting frame and track Wheels carried thereby, of brackets attached to said frame each carrying a stationary shaft, lifting eccentrics rotatably mounted on the shafts, auxiliary wheels journaled on said eccentrics, means for rotating said eccentrics to raise or lower said auxiliary Wheels, and means for maintaining said wheels in their raised position comprising lugs carried by said eccentrics engage able with lugs on said brackets.

6. In a portable railway compressor outfit, the combination with a supporting frame and track wheels carried thereby, of brackets attached to said frame each carrying a stationary shaft, lifting eccentrics rotatably mounted on said shafts, auxiliary wheels journaled on said eccentrics, means for rotating said eccentrics to raise or lower said auxiliary wheels, means for maintaining said wheels in their raised position comprising 5 lugs formed on said eccentrics engageable with lugs formed on said brackets, and means for locking said wheels in their lowered position comprising slidable locking pin carried by each of said brackets engage- 20 able with apertures formed in said eccentrics.

7. In a portable railway compressor outfit, the combination with a supporting frame and track wheels carried thereby, of brackets attached to said frame each having depend ing arms, a stationary shaft carried by the. arms of each bracket, a lifting eccentric rotatably mounted on each shaft, auxiliary wheels journaled on said eccentrics, means for rotating said eccentrics to raise or lower said auxiliary wheels, and means for locking said auxiliary wheels in their lowered position comprising a locking pin carried by one of the arms of said brackets and cooperating with an aperture formed in said eccentric.

8. In a portable railway compressor outfit. the combination with a supportin frame and track wheels carried thereby, of brackets attached to said frame and having depending arms, a stationary shat't carried by the arms of each bracket, a lifting eccentric rotatably mounted on each shaft, auxiliary wheels journaled on said eccentrics, means for rotating said eccentrics to raise or lower said auxiliary wheels comprising a socket therein adapted to receive a lever, means for maintaining the auxiliary wheels in their raised position comprising lugs formed on said eccentrics engageable with lugs formed on an arm of each bracket, and means for locking said wheels in their lowered position comprising a reciprocablc locking pin carried by one of the arms of each bracket and cooperating with an aperture in said eccentric.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

LEWIS J. CLAPP. 

